N or M?
True first edition (1941) of the novel,
first printed in the US |
|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead and Company |
|
Publication date
|
1941 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 289 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | Evil Under the Sun |
| Followed by | The Body in the Library |
N or M? is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1941 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in November of the same year. The US edition retailed $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6).
The title is taken from a catechism in the Book of Common Prayer which asks, "What is your Christian name? Answer N. or M." The "N. or M." here stands for the Latin, "nomen vel nomina", meaning "name or names". It is an accident of typography that "nomina" came to be represented by "m".
The novel is the first to feature the mature versions of her detectives Tommy and Tuppence, whose previous appearances had been in the adventure The Secret Adversary (1922) and the short story collection Partners in Crime (1929).
After the outbreak of the Second World War and many years after they worked for British intelligence, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford feel useless and sidelined. When Tommy alone is approached to go undercover once more, however, Tuppence decides to join him on his mission whether invited or not. Through good sleuthing she learns where he is to be sent and actually arrives there before him. They begin a search for German fifth columnists. Another British agent that was following these Germans left a cryptic message on his deathbed: "N or M. Song Susie". Grant knew that "Song Susie" stood for Sans Souci, a hotel in (fictional) seaside Leahampton, based on Bournemouth; "N" and "M" were two German spies, one male and one female. Tommy is to go to Sans Souci to investigate whether N, M or both are at the hotel and to figure out their identities.
Both N and M's identities are revealed at the end of the book; "N" is a top German spy—who is shot by British intelligence at the book's conclusion as he threatens Tuppence's life—and "M" is his female co-conspirator.
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Wikipedia